JUMPING INTO THE FISHBOWL: Cissy Houston and her granddaughter Bobbi Kristina Brown star in a new Lifetime reality series. Photo:

JUMPING INTO THE FISHBOWL: Cissy Houston and her granddaughter Bobbi Kristina Brown star in a new Lifetime reality series. (
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Halfway through tonight’s premiere of “The Houstons: On Our Own,” a reality show about life after Whitney, Pat, the singer’s former sister-in-law and the series’ executive producer, cries about the hardship of making decisions in a fishbowl.

“It’s very difficult,” she says, “to deal with [Bobbi Kristina, Whitney’s 19-year-old daughter], because the world is so involved with our family.” What?

For one thing, it’s a pretty grandiose statement. I, for one, am not involved with their family. Are you?

And two, Pat is the one who decided to bring in the world by producing this uncomfortable reality show that focuses mostly on herself and Whitney’s daughter.

But since when does reality TV make sense? Clearly they are trying to duplicate the blockbuster ratings of Oprah’s interview with Bobbi Kristina on OWN shortly after Whitney died. Warning: If you saw it, you don’t need to see this.

Pat comes across here as the wise and calm sage amidst the carnage left by the singer’s death.

The whole thing is reminiscent of the Jacksons’ behavior in the wake of Michael’s death. They, too, tried to exploit the situation with a reality show that was so bad, even they probably couldn’t watch it.

This series at least lets us see what the heck is going on between Bobbi Kristina and Nick Gordon, the young man that the press dubbed her adopted brother, and to whom she is now engaged.

The couple denies that he was ever adopted and Nick is quick to point out that Whitney took him in when his mother threw him out 10 years ago when he was still in high school.

If you want exploitation, “The Houstons: On Our Own” sinks to a new level when the whole family—including elderly matriarch Cissy Houston—visits Whitney’s grave site for the first time. I mean, can you imagine inviting a reality show team in to catch every private moment of seeing your mother’s grave for the first time? Is nothing sacred? Oh, right. No, nothing is sacred.

Because they want it all to look more glamorous than it is, they show the NYC skyline every five seconds and talk about being in New York.

Only thing is the restaurants they feature are in North Bergen and Newark. I don’t remember Newark moving to New York, but you never know.

The principal drama comes from the family’s displeasure at Bobbi’s engagement to Nick. Whitney’s brother/Pat’s husband, Gary, says, “How do you go from being a brother to a boyfriend? Crazy concept.”